beepbeepbeep. beepbeepbeep. beepbeepbeepbeep

rrrrrrrring. rrrrrrrrrrrring.

"Hello, S---- residence."

It was my dad. I so badly wanted to shout, "Hi, Dad! I love you! Maximum Ride is real, and I am in Max's body! Cool, huh? Can I speak to whom you currently think is your daughter? That's actually Max." But of course I couldn't, because he would (rightly) think I was some lunatic. So instead I gathered my composure and said, "Good morning, Mr. S----. May I speak to... uh... Rachel, please?"

"I'm sorry. We're about to leave for church. Can I tell her to call you back?"

"No, D... Mr. S----. This is extremely important. I need to talk to her right away, please."

"Okay. May I tell her who's calling?"

"Just a friend."

I heard the receiver being passed to Max.

"Hello? Who are you?" It was my voice. I was so happy I wanted to cry.

"Hi, Max, this is Rachel, the girl whose body you are in? How are you doing?" Yeah, it was a really lame way to introduce myself, but I couldn't think of anything else. There was such a long silence I thought maybe my hunch was wrong.

"Hello?"

"Oh my gosh."

"Yeah."

"So I'm not dreaming?"

"Nope."

I heard her flop down on my futon. Then a couple of words I won't write down. Then she asked weakly, "So what now? Is everybody with you?" I looked around at the Flock.

"Yep."

"Do they believe you?"

"Yep. Listen, Max, just keep pretending it's a dream. Go to church with my family. Answer to Rachel. Don't say anything you wouldn't want Angel to hear, keep your mouth and actions clean. Don't mention anything to anyone. Okay?"

"Okay."

"We'll be there as soon as possible, and we'll call you when we can."

"But what if..."

"RAAAAACHEL! Get off the phone! It's time to go, we're going to be late!" My mum.

"Oh, and call them Mum and Dad. And my little brother..."

"...is Shane. Right. Gotta go, tell everyone I love them."

Click.

I turned around, looking at five expectant faces. "She sends her love. She had to go cuz she's going to church with my family."

Nudge's eyes got real big. "You go to church? A lot or a little? We went to church once, and we prayed, and it felt good. Do you believe there's a God? I think I do, but I'm not sure. Do you believe in Jesus, or are you Jewish? Does..."

Fang cut her off again. "Later, Nudge. But we gotta leave. Now."

Angel asked, "What about Total?" I looked at the little dog. "Yeah, what about me?" he chimed in.

I sighed. Time to demonstrate my authority. "Listen, Total, I know you'd like to come, but you can't fly, and my dad's allergic to dogs."

"What about genetically mutated ones?"

"Sorry, Total, but you can't come."

"Please. This is so pathetic. What am I supposed to do? What happens if..."

I interrupted him. "You can find food, right? And you love chasing small animals, right? We'll leave some food out, and you can figure out how to get out. Watch some TV or something, okay?" I bent down to his level. "Sorry, little guy."

He and Angel both pouted, but he stayed put. Fang looked at me gratefully; I knew he usually carried him. Gasman looked up at me hopefully. "I'm hungry. Can we eat first?"

I spoke without even really thinking. "Of course! We need to fuel up before a long flight. Where do you guys want to eat?"

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Hey guys! I hadn't really thought about Total when I wrote this a loooong time ago, and then it turned out that he talks... you probably noticed how added-in that bit about him seems. REVIEW! Reviewers shall get... um... ah yes! Reviewers shall receive a knish. Pronounced Ka-nish.